Smelly Dilemma In Orlando

City Officials Say There's Nothing They Can Do About Two Trash Bins Near A Gourmet Food And Gift Shop Downtown.

November 17, 1998|By Dan Tracy of The Sentinel Staff

Smell, Mike Cabrera concedes, is subjective. An aroma that turns off one person, might entice another.

But there is no discussion, Cabrera says, when it comes to the odor put off by the two trash bins sitting next to his downtown Orlando gourmet food and gift shop at 145 E. Pine St.

They stink, he says, adding the stench often is so bad it runs off potential customers from his store, which is called Tennessee Station.

Cabrera, who has rented space in a city garage since the summer, has gone to Orlando officials for help. Both trash bins - one for trash, the other for recycling - are owned by Orlando.

But city officials say there is nothing they can do, and that already they empty up the trash several times a week.

The bins sit on private property, specifically the south end of the parking lot of the University Club, an exclusive, long-standing social organization.

By city law, Orlando cannot force the so-called U-Club to move or screen the bins unless the property undergoes a major renovation.

What's more, the city says, the U-Club actually is doing Orlando a favor by allowing the two bins on the lot because they serve several area shops, including Cabrera's.

U-Club officials could not be reached for comment but have told the city the trash bins cannot be moved without losing parking spots.

Cabrera feels as if he is being ignored in favor of the University Club - a charge the city denies.

``When there's even a little bit of odor, I send a truck over to dump it,'' said Kevin Edmonds, chief of the city's solid waste management bureau.

The city, Edmonds said, empties the trash bin up to five times a week, which is two more than normal.

Cabrera, 30, also has asked the city's Code Enforcement Bureau to cite the U-Club for the smells. But inspectors have declined.

Depending on the day and time, wrote code enforcement bureau chief Mike Rhodes, every trash bin in the city could be tagged for emitting foul smells.

``To make a citation stick, I believe that the problem should probably be a bit more pervasive,'' wrote Rhodes, who would not comment further.

Cabrera, who said he didn't notice the trash bins when he moved in, counters he is not the only one who finds the containers rancid. He has a petition holding more than 100 names seeking to have the containers moved.

He recently sought help from City Council member Bill Bagley, whose district includes Cabrera's shop and the U-Club.

The city really has no options, replied Bagley, who contends the location of Cabrera's store - well off downtown's main drag of Orange Avenue - is the most likely reason patrons are not seeking out Tennessee Station.